Over 700,000 school pupils collected their GCSE results today, as the percentage of pupils achieving a C grade or above saw the sharpest decline since the exams were launched in 1988.

The number of students gaining A*-C grades dropped 2.1 percentage points to 66.9 per cent, following a rush by 17-year-olds to resit English and maths.

However, the grade outcomes of 16-year-olds also declined, with A* grades falling 0.1 per cent, grades A* to A declining by 0.6 percentage points, and grades A* to C dropping 1.3 percentage points.

The decline was blamed on recent reforms in the education system, the first of which demands that students gain at least a C in GCSE English and maths.

Figures revealed a rise of 32.6 per cent in the numbers of entries for maths among 17-year-olds and older and a 31.9 per cent increase in those taking English within the same age group.

The Government's push to get all pupils to study the traditional academic disciplines included in the EBacc, was also blamed for the decline. Critics of the policy say the performance measure "narrows options" for teenagers, and includes subjects which "don't work well for everyone".

This year's results also mark the last cohort of pupils taking the old maths and English GCSEs. From next year, pupils will receive marks for the new exams, introduced in September 2015, which come with a new grading system.

Thank you for joining us today

Congratulations to everyone who picked up their GCSE results today. Whether you are heading into an apprenticeship, about to start a BTEC or an NVQ, or taking A-levels or the IB - or even if you have decided to retake some subjects - now's your chance to decide how you want the next few years to play out. Good luck.

Remember: don’t forget to carefully consider which subject you might wish to spend three years of your life studying at university. You don’t want to limit your choice of degree by not picking the right A-levels. Make sure you have a look at the course requirements of any degrees you like the look of.

If you already have a vague idea of your degree choice, think also about which subjects would best complement it. English and history, for example, are an excellent combination: both require analytical and essay-writing skills, as well as attention to detail. However, if you want to study medicine, they won't be what admissions tutors are looking for.

It might also be worth considering which A-level subjects are held in the highest regard by the top universities. They are not just looking for the top grades, but grades in the right subjects. These are known as ‘facilitating subjects’ and comprise of:

Maths and further maths

English literature

History

Languages (both classical and modern)

Physics

Chemistry

Biology

Geography

Taking two of these subjects will make sure you keep your options wide open for university study.

'Worrying picture' for languages following further decline in GCSE entries

Figures have revealed an overall drop in the number of GCSE modern foreign language exams sat this year, according to analysis by the British Council. The number of French exams has fallen by 8.1 per cent compared with 2015, with a 7.0 per cent drop in German. Conversely, the number of Spanish exams was up by 2.1 per cent this year.

In total, there were 334,355 modern foreign language entries in 2016 compared with 757,296 entries to GCSE maths and 513,285 to GCSE English.

Commenting on the figures, Vicky Gough, schools adviser at the British Council, said:

"It’s yet another disappointing day for language learning as GCSE entries continue to fall. Highly-valued languages French and German have suffered once again with respective declines of 8.1 per cent and 7.0 per cent. And although French remains the most popular of the GCSE languages, uptake has more than halved in the past two decades. In fact, this year’s figures paint a worrying picture for languages overall with the total number of students sitting a languages GCSE this year being less than half of those sitting one in maths.

The main silver lining today is that last year’s drop in Spanish – the language seen as most important for the UK’s future prosperity - seems to have been reversed with entries rising by 2.1 per cent. And generally, Spanish continues to buck the decline with entries up by 27.6 per cent in five years. There are also welcome increases in the uptake of Arabic and Chinese this year but sadly these modest gains cannot compensate for the downturn in language learning overall."

"I can’t help wondering if we couldn’t make it all a lot easier on young people about to enter sixth form – and on our economy – by persuading more state schools to adopt the International Baccalaureate (IB), instead of traditional A-levels.

The IB is already widely available in the private education sector in the UK, but far less so in state schools. It offers six subjects – three at standard level, three at higher level – which gives more options than A-levels to choose a balance of subjects.

Crucially for an engineering or technology career, these subjects include maths and a science."

Should all pupils be required to get a C grade in English and maths?

There's a lot of reaction coming in regarding the Government's decision to require all students to achieve at least a C in GCSE maths and English - and for 90 per cent of pupils to study the EBacc by 2020.

Martin Doel, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges

"Further education colleges face an ever increasing challenge as more students are re-sitting GCSE English and maths. But the challenge is compounded by the fact that colleges may be supporting students who are demoralised and disheartened after failing to achieve the necessary grades after 11 years in school.

It’s important that all young people have a good standard of literacy and numeracy but not everyone can get a grade C at GCSE. The Government must consider creating a qualification... that complements technical and professional studies, motivate students and meet the needs of employers."

Jill Stokoe, education policy advisor at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)

"The Government must acknowledge that their policy to force 17-year-olds to re-take English and maths until they obtain a pass grade is not in the best interests of students, and is clearly not working because fewer students are passing their re-sits now that they are compulsory. And this policy is clearly having an impact on the overall results for English and maths GCSEs, as this year nearly 40 per cent of students didn’t achieve A*-C.

We suspect that the fall in A*-C grades reflects the impact of the Government’s ill-thought-out policy to push all students to do the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects. This is making many students study subjects in which they do not excel, rather than subjects in which they would do well and could provide good career opportunities."

The film adaptation of the classic book stars Rafe Spall, Harry Enfield and Jessica Hynes.

Seren picked up her results from the £11,340-a-year independent school today, achieving an A in PE, two B grades in English, and four C grades in drama, French, maths and science.

She will go on to Peter Symonds College in Winchester, Hants, to study A-levels, including Performing Arts.

Seren said she is still not certain she will become a professional actor despite her early success. She added: "I'm not 100 per cent sure what I want to do in the future. I'm also really into sport, I do athletics and hockey, so becoming a physiotherapist or something is also a possibility."

Published in 1930, Swallows and Amazons is the first book in a series written by English author, Arthur Ransome. Set in the Lake District, the novel chronicles the outdoor adventures of children from two families, the Walker children - called the 'Swallows' after the dingy they sail in - and the Blackett sisters - known as the 'Amazons'.

Should GCSEs be scrapped? The debate resurfaces

Now that all young people must remain in education or training until they are 18, what use do GCSEs serve? They are no longer an 'end-of-education' exam, and simply heap unnecessary pressure on teenagers.

However, now AS-levels have been decoupled from the A-level, universities will increasingly look to GCSEs to gauge an applicant's suitability for a course. Furthermore, for many of the subjects students take at GCSE, it will be the last time they are studied formally, so an exam to show a pupil's standard is completely appropriate.

How did your subject do at GCSE?

The rise of the IT crowd

The jump in students taking computing is "really encouraging", according to Andrew Hall, chief executive of exam board AQA.

"Computing is a new qualification that students see is much more relevant to their future," he said. "I think that's a very positive switch."

However the drop in students taking creative subjects such as music, drama and art "from a position of stability" is stark, said Mr Hall. Entries for media/film/TV studies fell by 11.6 per cent, while performing/expressive arts declined by 9.4 per cent.

However, the results showed increases in entries for both combined sciences (up 3.3 per cent) and separate biology, chemistry and physics courses (up 3.6 per cent, 5.57 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively).

Mr Hall said: "What we believe is happening there is that some of the stronger students in the past have taken combined science, are seeing the increased benefit of having the single sciences on their CV and starting to take that."

He said overall the results across all GCSE subjects demonstrated "real stability".

"Post 16-year-olds who haven't got a grade C in maths are now required to do maths and English for the rest of their education up to 18.

"Not surprisingly, the 17-year-old entries are massively up by 23.2 per cent - absolutely dominated by resitting English and maths in England. "We are getting much much more of a focus here on 16- and 17-year-olds resitting."

Pupils continue to remain upbeat

The night before results day; students (and parents) were clearly feeling the pressure. Now, it's time to celebrate - or at least display your disappointment with a meme. Let us know how you did by tweeting @JosieGurneyRead

Parents spending £293 on technology bribes for GCSE students

The annual analysis of GCSE rewards is in. According to a survey by Currys PC World, 41 percent of parents admitted to dangling a tech "carrot" in front of their children to get the top grades.

And, for those parents that do splash the cash, they will be down an average £293 on a single tech reward for their exam sitting teenagers. What's more, those living in London reportedly spend almost twice as much as those living in the north of England - £501 compared with £252.

Gender gap widens as girls increase their lead over boys

Today's figures revealed that the gender gap has increased slightly by 0.5 per cent this summer, with 71.3 per cent of girls' entries awarded at least a C grade, compared with 62.4 per cent of boys'.

However, both were down on last year, from 73.1 per cent and 64.7 per cent respectively. Girls also outperformed boys in terms of achieving the very top grades, with 7.9 per cent getting an A*, compared with 5.0 per cent for boys, although both saw a slight decline.

According to Ashley Kirk, gender gaps can be seen across subjects from a young age, with construction being dominated by boys and girls flocking to health and social care.

Boys account for around nine in 10 students in subjects such as construction, engineering and computing, leading to a knock-on effect in future education and career choices.

The subjects with the highest proportion of girls taking them are health and social care and home economics - continuing a trend seen for several years.

"The Government's aspiration is to encourage a massive increase in the take-up of EBacc to 90 per cent of all pupils. Its argument is that this will give many more pupils access to a set of rigorous traditional academic subjects which will give them the best chance of progressing to the top universities and good careers.

This aspiration, however, is hugely controversial for a variety of reasons. One of these is that many school leaders regard the choice of subjects in EBacc as too narrow.

Our concern is that an unintended consequence of requiring so many pupils to study EBacc will be to skew the curriculum because the intense focus on this specific combination of subjects will crowd out other valid subjects from the timetable.

We could, for instance, see entries for creative subjects such as music and drama declining to the point at which these subjects are no longer viable. They would then become accessible only to those families who could afford to pay for them privately"

Northern Ireland outstrips the rest of the UK in top grades at GCSE

Further analysis of the figures by Javier Espinoza has revealed that Northern Ireland comfortably outstrips the rest of the UK when it comes to top grades at GCSE level.

Data from the Joint Council of Qualification showed that 9.3 per cent of pupils in Northern Ireland obtain an A* compared to 6.5 per cent of all pupils in the UK.

Experts said an academically selective system through grammar schools explains the robust results. Over 29 per cent of all pupils obtained an A grade versus 20.5 per cent of pupils in the UK as a whole.

Percentage of 16-year-olds gaining A*-C falls

GCSE results have seen their sharpest decline ever when looked at across all age groups.

However, the grade outcomes of 16-year-olds also witnessed a fall, although this was less pronounced. A* grades fell 0.1 per cent, grades A* to A fell by 0.6 percentage points, and grades A* to C dropped 1.3 percentage points.

The fall among 16-year-olds is partly down to the overall change in the pattern of entries.

More teenagers have been signing up to do traditional academic subjects such as history, geography and the sciences - EBacc subjects and a key measure of accountability.

Sharpest decline ever recorded for A*-C grades as pupils rush to resit English and maths

GCSE results saw their sharpest decline ever as the number of students gaining A*-C grades dropped 2.1 percentage points to 66.9 per cent, following a rush by 17-year-olds to resit English and maths.

Javier Espinoza, our Education Editor, reports that the percentage of students gaining a "good pass" (grade C or above) rose continuously from 1988 (when the exams were launched) to 2011, but this year marks the biggest fall since then. The last time grades declined dramatically was in 2013, when they fell by 1.3 percentage points.

Changes to the education system - which mean that students are now not allowed to leave school or training before 18, coupled with a a requirement that they obtain at least a C in GCSE English and maths - have led to a sharp rise in the number of 17-year-olds retaking these subjects.

Figures revealed a rise of 32.6 per cent in the numbers of entries for maths among 17-year-olds and older and a 31.9 per cent increase in those taking English within the same age group.

The growing proportion of resits for maths and English led to a drop in grades across the board, data from the Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ) showed.

Michael Turner, director general of the JCQ, said: "There is significant movement in this year's entries, which impacts on results and creates a very complex national picture.

"We see shifts not only between subjects, but also across qualifications and year groups.

"This is driven by several factors, including performance measures and resit policies in England."

Alternatives to A-levels

Although A-levels - and increasingly the International Baccalaureate (IB) - remain the traditional route taken for post-16 education, there are several alternatives that students can consider, including apprenticeships, BTECs, NVQs, and traineeships.

Half of pupils choose A-levels without considering degree options

Over half of pupils choosing their A-level subjects, picked their courses without thinking about what degree they wanted to pursue, potentially narrowing their options for later in life, according to new research.

A survey of over 1,000 teenagers by Which? University also found that only around three in ten felt suitably informed of how their A-level options would impact their university or degree choice, while a similar percentage (29 per cent) felt they needed more advice on which A-levels to take.

Today's research also called into question the career's guidance offered by schools, with nearly a fifth of those surveyed saying that different A-level subjects might have been better suited to the degree course they applied for.

Could you pass GCSE maths?

Questions have been supplied by Education Quizzes, an online educational resource, and are based on foundation level questions (GCSE grade C and under) and higher lever questions (GCSE grade C and above).

Progress to be key measure in school league tables

Another key reform to watch out for will be the Government's new Progress 8 measure. Realistically, this should only really concern you if you're a teacher, the Government, or if you're looking at league tables.

Progress 8 is set to be the new headline performance measure when tables are published for GCSE results in January 2017; running alongside the percentage of students obtaining the EBacc and the percentage of students getting 5 A*-C grades.

It is set to measure a pupil's progress made from primary school to secondary school against a national benchmark.

A pupil's Progress 8 score will be reached by first calculating their Attainment 8 score. This score is based on eight subjects taken at GCSE; English and maths (which receive double points), three EBacc subjects, and three additional subjects.

Points are assigned to each subject, depending on the grade received. A total is then taken and divided by 10, which becomes the Attainment 8 score. A pupil's Progress 8 score will be calculated thus: Attainment 8, minus 'estimated' Attainment 8.

The estimated Attainment 8 score will be the average Attainment 8 score of all pupils who achieved the same level in primary school key stage 2 tests.

Each school will also receive a Progress 8 score, based on the average taken from their pupils. Schools will be required to meet a national benchmark, set by the Government, or could be labelled as failing.

One of the main differences with these GCSEs will be the grading system. No longer will these qualifications be graded A* - G, instead, students will receive a grade between 1-9, with 9 being the highest grade awarded.

In 2017, students collecting their results will received a mixture of the old style grades and the new numerical system. By 2019, all pupils will be graded with a 1-9.

Top GCSE grades are expected to fall due to rise in retakes

Javier Espinoza, Education Editor, reports that recent changes to the education system mean that now students are not allowed to leave education or training before 18. They must also all achieve at least a C in English and maths, a reform which has led to a 34 per cent rise in the number of 17-year-olds resitting exams.

But Alan Smithers, director of Buckingham University's Centre for Education and Employment Research, predicted that English and maths retakes will instead affect this year's figures.

"The results may drop this year but this does not mean that our 16 year olds are doing less well rather it is the extra numbers retaking the exam having failed to get a C grade.

"The Government has taken the view that achieving at least a C in English and maths is necessary for a good start in life. But students who struggle with these subjects may find it dispiriting to keep retaking them.

"In some cases if the pass is a necessary to complete an apprenticeship the extra motivation may well see them through."